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☆.｡.:* "-ck?" Sanemi finished, speaking angrily to Gyomei, "Why is this demon here? Why are you here? What the hell happened to this place? Did a bomb go off?"
Starting from the beginning, Gyomei recounted their story, spending a little more time with the details of Mew's kittens. As he spoke, he and Arata cleaned up the place.
Surprisingly, somewhat patiently, Sanemi listened, with an irritable expression on his face as if Gyomei was telling him something ridiculously stupid. Arata, who was used to Sanemi's usual angry and aggressive manner, noticed Sanemi's fairly calm mood. She gasped.
"For once, Angry Scars Weird-Eyed Old Man isn't angry!" Arata breathed, with her mouth agape, pointing at a now annoyed Sanemi.
Sanemi yelled, "Who the hell is 'Angry Scars Weird-Eyed Old Man'?"
"You!" Arata replied with a bright smile on her face.
For a quick few seconds, Sanemi was stunned, with a confused yet disgusted expression on his face. It felt as if in every encounter with Arata, Sanemi had something new to be offended about.
"My name is 'Sanemi Shinazugawa', not whatever idiotic atrocity you just came up with!"
"Salami Shigga-wagga!" Arata exclaimed, her eyes sparkling, "Salami Shigga-wagga!"
Taken aback, Sanemi spluttered, "THE FU-?"
"SALAMI SHIGGA-WAGGA! SALAMI SHIGGA-WAGGA! SALAMI SHIGGA-WAGGA! SALAMI SHIGGA-WAGGA! SALAMI SHIGGA-WAGGA!" Arata chanted, doing a little dance, grinning broadly, "SALAMI SHIGGA-WAGGA! SALAMI SHIGGA-WAGGA! SALAMI SHIGGA-WAGGA!"
With one of his large, dry, bug-like eyes twitching, Sanemi stood frozen in the spot, at loss for words. Gyomei, setting down a bowl he was cleaning, walked towards Arata, who was still yelling at the top of her lungs.
"Calm down, Arata," Gyomei said, patting Arata's head gently, speaking over Arata's shouts, "Don't scare Shinazugawa away,"
"SALAM-" Arata stopped, turned her head to look up at Gyomei, then glancing at Sanemi, "Scare him away?"
"What?" Sanemi scoffed, snapping out of his trance, "Scare me-?"
"RAWR! I'm scary! Fear me!"
Attempting a ferocious expression, Arata bared her teeth, stubby fangs visible, her raised hands curled. Behind her, Gyomei was stifling a laugh.
"... What?" Sanemi said, a bewildered expression on his face.
"Hehehe!" Arata giggled, pointing at Sanemi, "You're scared!"
"Huh? No, you little twerp, I'm confused-"
"Cat-napper!" Arata beamed, turning to Gyomei, "Angry Salami is scared~!"
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU CALL ME-?"
"Calm down," Gyomei murmured, speaking softly to Sanemi.
Picking it up from the small counter, Gyomei handed an over burnt, cat-shaped cupcake to Sanemi. However, he used too much force and nearly shoved the cupcake up Sanemi's nose. Inspired, with a soft 'Ooh!' escaping her lips, Arata mimicked Gyomei's action.
"Eat bread!" Arata exclaimed, finishing Gyomei's sentence with a radiant smile.
Swearing loudly, Sanemi slapped the two cupcakes away. Gyomei covered Arata's ears. While her ears were being covered, Arata's eyes followed the cupcakes as they zoomed away from Sanemi, and splattered on the wall. She gasped, a deeply offended expression on her face.
"How dare you waste bread!" Arata shouted, smacking away Gyomei's hands, pointing accusatorily at Sanemi.
"HAAAH?" Sanemi spat, exasperated, "Those are cupcakes, not bread! Get your eyes checked!"
"Dumb-dumb! Bread and cupcakes are the same thing!" Arata shot back, waving her hands around, as she spoke in an agitated manner, "They're both tasty!"
"What did you call me?" Sanemi roared, veins popping out on his face, "You should get your brain checked instead! Bread and cupcakes have a world of difference!"
Arata stuck out her tongue, "They're both eaten in the end anyway, so who cares? Don't waste my bread!"
With a furious expression on his face, Sanemi opened his mouth to retort. It was that moment when Gyomei stepped in between Sanemi and Arata, attempting to cool the heated argument.
"Calm down," Gyomei spoke softly and soothingly, articulating this phrase for the third time in the span of a few minutes.
Arata pouted and turned to face the other direction with a huff. Sanemi ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a huge sigh that was more like a grumble. His face was sporting a frustrated and tired expression.
For a short while, there was silence. The air was filled with nothing but the sound of quiet purrs from Mew, the ginger cat, and their kittens, who were all disturbed from their sleep by the previous argument.
Feeling bad, Arata trudged over to Sanemi, sighing heavily. An apologetic expression was on her face.
"Are you mad? Arata is sorry... We can make cupcakes together, with cat-napper, if that would make you feel better!" Arata suggested.
Gyomei, who was in the process of wiping the previously flour-stained counter, paused at Arata's words. As the idea of the three making cupcakes came to mind, more tears slid down Gyomei's cheeks as he shuddered, imagining all the chaos he would have to clean after.
He mentally prayed that Sanemi's answer would be 'no'.
"Ha... are you making fun of me?" Sanemi replied, his eyes narrowing.
"No, Salami! Of course not!" Arata said, smiling broadly.
"Don't call me that!" Sanemi hissed.
"Okay, Salami!"
"YOU-"
"Here's a deal, Salami!" Arata declared, suddenly.
She held out her hand, pointing at Sanemi. However, the two were so close together that the tip of Arata's fingers lightly tapped Sanemi's nose.
"Let's have a cupcake showdown!" Arata exclaimed enthusiastically, "Cat-napper will be the judge!"
"... Huh?"
"If cat-napper says you win, then I'll stop calling you 'Salami', Salami!" Arata said, "But if I win..."
She giggled maniacally.
"You have to do one thing I say!" Arata finished, her smile growing wider.
Sanemi scoffed, "And I would agree to this because...?"
"Because if you don't, that means you're too scared~" Arata grinned.
Sanemi stiffened, clenching his teeth tightly.
"I mean, of course, your confidence would waver if you're against me," Arata sighed dramatically, "That's understandable! I guess it can't be helped if you don't have enough guts!"
"YOU ANNOYING LITTLE BRAT, WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DON'T HAVE GUTS? I'LL MAKE THE MOST AMAZING CUPCAKES YOU AND HIMEJIMA HAVE EVER TASTED!" Sanemi exploded, shouting furiously, "YOU'LL BE ON YOUR KNEES BEGGING FOR MORE!"
"I'll assume this means you agree to my deal," Arata beamed.
Did she just manipulate Shinazugawa into making cupcakes with her? Gyomei thought, surprised.
Arata turned to Gyomei, her eyes twinkling with excitement, "Prepare yourself! You're about to witness the battle of the century!"
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"Hey! You looked at the ingredients I'm using, didn't you?"
"HAAAH? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
"You copied me! You looked at the ingredients I was using and picked up the same sugar I'm using afterward! You're cheating!"
Gyomei, who was sitting in the corner of the room, petting Mew, watched Sanemi and Arata bicker back and forth over the silliest things. Only a couple of minutes had passed, and the two had already dived into their fourth argument.
When they were not tearing at each other's throats, they were actually making cupcakes.
Sanemi baked aggressively. He did everything with force, even if it was simple things like adding flour to a bowl. Every second that passed, he was contemplating his life choices. He regretted ever entering this bunker room.
What the hell am I doing?
Those words echoed through his mind like a broken record.
Arata, on the other hand, was feeling overjoyed. Softly, she hummed as she worked, determined to show Sanemi how good her cupcakes were, and come out as the winner of their deal.
However, an obstacle stood in her way: Arata didn't know how to bake.
While she pondered how to conquer this problem, she distinctly remembered watching and helping Rui make bread back on Mount Natagumo. As if Rui's hand was guiding her, she managed to add and mix all the correct ingredients together.
When the cupcakes were baking, she started to create the frosting. Arata was almost certain her cupcakes were going to turn out better than Sanemi's.
Although his pride restricted him from admitting it, Sanemi was good at baking. He often made ohagi in his free time. He had no trouble finishing his cupcake, except for the fact that he felt very self-conscious about baking in front of Gyomei, who he respected.
As Sanemi and Arata were making cupcakes, Gyomei's attention was on Mew, the ginger cat, and their kittens. Finding a cat-like toy, he played with the kittens as he pet Mew. The ginger cat took a nap at his feet.
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"Ta-da!" Arata exclaimed, her arms outstretched, "We're done!"
Six cupcakes lay on the counter. Sanemi and Arata each made three cupcakes. Sanemi's cupcakes were ordinary vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles. Arata had made chocolate, cat-shaped cupcakes that had a cat face drawn on them with vanilla frosting. Her cupcake turned out a bit similar to bread in texture.
Gyomei picked up one of Sanemi's cupcakes and took a bite. After finishing the cupcake, he ate one of Arata's cupcakes.
"At least it's not burnt this time, Arata," Gyomei commented, a faint trace of a smile on his face.
Arata let out an awkward laugh, fidgeting in the spot.
"Who wins? Me or Salami?" Arata asked, after a few moments, her eyes sparkling excitedly.
"... Well, both of your cupcakes were good..." Gyomei started to say, speaking carefully.
How do I answer so they are both satisfied?
"... Arata's cupcake was sweeter and more simple, which would be good for a light snack," Gyomei said, "And Shinazugawa's was richer in flavor... So, I say it's a tie!"
"A tie..." Arata murmured, "So, neither of us won?"
"You both won," Gyomei answered.
"Oh, okay, yay!" Arata beamed, throwing her hands in the air.
She ran towards Gyomei and gave him a hug. Her hands couldn't quite wrap all the way around his sides.
"Alright, then," Sanemi muttered, scowling, "That's that. I'm going now,"
He started to head to the door when Arata dashed across the room and latched onto Sanemi instead.
"HEY! WHAT THE FU-?"
"No! Don't go!" Arata squeaked, "We both won, so you have to do one thing I say, and I'll stop calling you 'Salami'!"
"Like hell I'm going to listen to you like an obedient dog!" Sanemi yelled, trying to pry Arata off of him.
"Then I'll keep calling you 'Salami'!" Arata shouted back, tightening her grip around Sanemi, "Salami! Salami! Salami! Salami! Salami! Salami! Salami! Salami!"
Sanemi felt as if his head would explode, "AUGH, STOP-"
"SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI!" Arata screamed at the top of her lungs, "SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI! SALAMI!"
"OKAY, FINE, STOP, ALRIGHT?"
Arata let out a glowing smile, her eyes glittering with joy, "YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!"
In the corner of the room, Gyomei let out a quiet laugh that was barely audible.
"So, what do you want me to do, you little brat?" Sanemi snapped.
Arata blinked.
"Hmm..." Arata mumbled, a deeply concentrated expression on her face as she pondered.
Sanemi, slightly nervous, waited for Arata's answer, wondering what she had in store for him. After a few seconds, Arata looked back up at Sanemi, a broad smile on her face. She opened her mouth to speak.
"To be honest, Angry Scars Weird-Eyed Old Man, I have no idea!"